Classmates of the high-school sophomore suspected of stabbing people on Wednesday said he was a smart, quiet teen who "was not bullied."
"I don't know what could possibly motivate him to do it," Shane Molyneaux told NBC News in an email interview, a student at Franklin Region Senior High School who did not witness the stabbing.
"He was somewhat friendly. He was very smart. He was not bullied and he did not seem like a mean kid. He did have friends."
Kari Lee, who was walking into Franklin Regional when students stampeded out in a panic, said the suspect is "a quiet kid" with a low social profile.
"He wasn't a kid who would do something like this," she said.
The suspect's name is being withheld by NBC News because of his age. A relative reached by phone declined to answer questions.
Officials have not confirmed the suspect's identity.